Wentworth

I have a young son and want to save or investment a regular amount every month eg 1,000 Baht along with perhaps the odd amount that he may get from relatives. I've looked at the high street bank savings accounts including 3 and 6 month fixed rates - It's hardly worth the petrol or shoe leather to go. This is a long term thing - perhaps 15 years +.

I have thought about investing abroad but it would only be economical if done on say a 6 monthly basis or more. I'm trying to give him the savings habit by doing something every month that is tangible, to encourage him. So, my feeling is that it probably needs to be in Thailand but willing to be persuaded.

I would be grateful for suggestions.

I have just done a comparison with the exchange rates. The test I did on MB gave me approximately 53.19 Baht to Sterling. I checked Kasikorn, as if I was getting a normal Swift transfer from UK. They give you the TT Buying rate, which currently stands at 55.22. Even with a much higher charge for the Swift transfer it seems to be better than MB, but I'm open to suggestions.

I'm just checking out the Moneybookers website. It asks you to stipulate both the currency you are sending and receiving. I have just tried it and it gives a breakdown of the costs and how much will be received in Baht. I just wondered if I was missing something.

I'm on the trail of trying to figure out the best option(s) for transferring money into my Thai bank account. I realise the following is probably not accurate but a general guide. Some have told me that there are quite good facilities with other UK banks, however I'm living here and won't be able to open an account in the UK.

Just to let you know I'm from the UK and have a Kasikorn savings account. My UK account is with 'Smile' internet bank. For arguments sake lets assume I want to bring in 1000 GBP.

1. Thai ATM - 'Smile' charge is approx 2.5%, then add the Thai bank's charge on top of that. Never used it but happy to have the facility in an emergency.

2. Swift transfer - Transaction charge is 26 GBP. It is possible that the 'Thai handling agent' will charge an additional fee but there seems to be no rule of thumb on the whys and wherefores. Out of about 10 transactions I have been charged on one occasion, which was about 3,000 GBP. I didn't get hit with the extra charge when bringing a larger amount for property. A routine transfer can take up to 4 working days and so there's no way of knowing what exchange rate I will get.

I found out from 'Smile' that coincidentally they use Kasikorn when transferring into Thailand. When I asked Kasikorn about their handling fees they gave the following:

0.25% of the transferred amount (minimum 200 baht and maximum 500 baht). To transfer money to branches outside Bangkok and vicinity, there will be additional fees, which are leased line fee of 20 baht per transaction, and province to province transfer fee is 10 baht for each 10,000 baht transferred.

If I understand the above correctly they will charge me 260 Baht.

3. Paypal - Investigating this was a real nightmare. I asked the Paypal Service desk about what they considered my best option but got a garbled reply and I was none the wiser - it's almost as if the responder was getting the sack and wanted to destroy Paypal's image. I believe the transfer fee would be in the region of 2.5%. I couldn't find out if it was possible to set up accounts so that I could make a trail from my UK account to my Thai account. On top of that I've been told that the Paypal forex rates are nasty.

4. UK Post Office Overseas Money Transfer - A new service from 'Royal Mail'. It costs nothing to setup or maintain the account. They make their money from the exchange rate and you are quoted a range as it depends on how much you want to transfer. The exchange rates are quite low. They do stress that they will reimburse any additional charges eg from the Thai end. The benefit is that you'll know what rate you get.

5. Moneybookers.com - I must be living in a cave. Vaguely remember hearing the name but just checked out the website. I don't know how I could access the money once I've sent it to myself. Looks like the charges are 1.9% to send and 1.8 to 3.5 Eur to withdraw. Not sure how the Forex works.

6. Western Union - Don't know how difficult it is to set up but believe the transaction charge is something like 15% and not forgetting the Forex.

I would welcome people's ideas on the best way to get money into Thailand as well as any corrections or misunderstandings with details above.

Many thanks, will leave the money till I get the precious stamp. I am planning on going with my 'Significant Other', the expression some have used.

Was on Tourist visa, now I've got a Non Imm from Bangkok. In a few days I'm off to my regional office to change that to Non Imm 'O' - Marriage. I've had the 400k in the bank for over 4 months so should be no problem. Given that if they accept the application, after the interview etc I'm told I go back a month later and will get the one year visa. Can anyone tell me when I can use the 400k again; after my application in a few days or after I get the visa stamp in about a month?

My apologies - you're right I was getting myself confused. The 175 Billion probably stuck in my mind, but I think is the PSBR, but presumably pushes up the National Debt ie all the country's outstanding debt in gilts etc.

However, I'm still thinking about the overall amount that the UK owes to whoever. As I mentioned it's probably the problem the UK government would like to have by thinking about getting rid of the Public Debt. Would governments ideally like to get rid of the debt or is a certain level of payments based on percentage of GDP acceptable. Presumably they look at it as acceptable debt at say 40% of GDP as much as most people would think about a mortgage - a necessary evil. They probably don't want to have to cut public spending even over many years to bring the debt to zero as it's politically not a good idea.

With so many of the richer nations having cosmic levels of debt and the political posturing of necessary cuts; what are economists general views on acceptable levels of debt benchmarked against GDP?

Thinking of my own nation (UK), public debt is in the region of 175 Billion GBP. I'm told the present government's acceptance level is somewhere close to 40% of GDP, not sure what the level is at the moment but obviously staggeringly higher. This might not be the right moment to consider it but as with inflation, is it accepted thinking that we need public debt or could it in theory be wiped out? Do politicians think, in a Utopian world, that they would like no public debt, but in the real world feel it would not be worth the pain and public spending would suffer too much?

Thanks. I'm from the UK and was concerned about the taxes angle. I get the feeling that I will probably end up dealing with a US firm. Could you tell me what the accepted practice is with taxes in the US; is tax deducted as part of the deal or are you expected to declare it?

I am looking for an online broker or industry regulated list of brokers. I am looking to deal as offshore so would also like to know what the situation with taxes is. It would be helpful if they dealt with a wide range of funds eg Morningstar list

I have a yellow book but have sold the house it applied to. I'm renting a place but will probably be building/buying a place in the next 2 or 3 years. What do I do with the Yellow Book for the sold house, return to the Amphur or can I keep till I get another place?

Although I have internet access through ADSL, I confess to not having a clue about the speed or what it all means. Coming from the distant lands of Europe, people just talked about dial-up and broadband; then when I got here they started talking about ADSL. could someone wise me up about what it all means?

Also, like many people, I get fed-up with various things about TV access especially through UBC, or whatever they call themselves this week. A friend - yes straight up not me - has internet tv, which seems to come from South Africa. The only trouble is that, every now and then there are some delays of up to 5 seconds, I can't remember what it's called and he's out of contact for some time. I have no idea what bandwidth speeds we presently have but are we anywhere close to getting the sort of speed we would need for internet tv?

Many thanks 'Lite Beer'.

I've just got the marriage photos and had to get an extension to my Tourist visa as I don't know when I can go to Bangkok and want to have the 21 days remaining.

I did check out the 'Change Visa' link as you kindly showed. I still want to talk to someone as websites have a habit of not getting updated(as per recent trip to Kuala Lumpur Thai Consulate) and it's a bit of a hike to Bangkok from where I live. Went to Chiang Mai immigration a few days ago and they directed me to the main number at Bangkok (02287 3101 - 10 lines) - this is an automated service and didn't come close to offering anything near what I needed (please put me right if I misunderstand the options as the English voice wasn't good or clear) They also don't have an actual person or 'general enquiries' option. The number is also quoted on the 'Change Visa' but gives an extension 2237 which I cannot reach. Chiang Mai immigration were lauding the 'Help' available by giving '1178' - I've tried the number on several occasions and no answer and so the phone company cuts the call.

I would be grateful for clarification about the procedure to get a 1 year Non Imm 'O' from this point.

As far as I can tell, I change my visa at Bkk to Non Imm taking all the documents as outlined in 'Change Visa'. How long does that give me and does the Non Imm come with a suffix? I can go to BKK and submit and wait whilst they process the same day, so the immigration website says. They don't mention anything about proving the financial aspects for marriage - do I then go to my regional immigration office(Chiang Mai) and prove it there? How about the so called 'Interview' to prove the marriage is kosher? At the point I should get a 1 year Non Imm 'O' - fingers crossed!

I am on a Tourist Visa at the moment. Having recently got married and hoping to get a Nom Imm 'O'. I qualify on the criteria eg money in bank etc. I would appreciate some clarification for the procedure.

Prior to getting married I spoke to both the Main Bangkok Immigration and my local regional immigration office. I made sure they understood that I had a Tourist Visa; my main concern at the time is whether I had to leave the country to get another type of visa. They both told me that I should go to my local immigration office, have an interview etc to change from Tourist to Nom Imm. I rang my local office yesterday to get the wheels in motion and they told me that I have to go for an interview at Bangkok.

Not sure what to think!

Thanks for the help. At the moment I transfer from my UK account using SWIFT, but my UK internet bank charges a minimum of 26 GBP(about THB 1400) for a 3,000 GBP transfer. On top of that the Thai banking agent can and has made an additional charge in the past which can amount to the same or even higher than the UK bank charge. I asked the UK bank about this and they said it's in the rules but you just don't know if they(Thais) will charge it or not, it's not amount specific just seems to be at their whim.

I am enquiring about trying to use paypal as I wanted to know if it was possible and what the charges are, to compare to the present method. Like most people I just want to find the cheapest and most convenient way to transfer.

I registered for a Paypal account about 18 months in a hurry to book a hotel and haven't used it since. I didn't really understand then and am not much the wiser now.

I've heard others using it to transfer money to Thailand. I emailed the Paypal Help Desk but I am more confused than ever now.

I would like to transfer money from a UK account to my Thai account, somehow. I don't have a Thai credit card(heard this might help) but might possibly be eligible as I'm getting married shortly(again, no idea of the rules for this).

Can anyone tell me if it's possible and the basics of how to do it.

I am in Thailand on a Tourist Visa but planning to get married. I have done some homework about the change to the Non Imm 'O' in terms of requirements eg money. My next piece of homework is about the 'Interview' part of the visa application. As with the recent rule changes I am in the Chiang Mai catchment area. I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has gone through the 'interview' process there - just what sort of information do they ask for?

Thanks

It's just got me wondering how long the Thai authorities are required/in practice keep paper records for. About 3 years ago I was given a work permit(not for teaching) and they said they wanted to evaluate the situation - so they gave me 1 month. I had to apply again and instead of just giving say some updates I had to supply all the paperwork over again and you know how many rainforests had to be felled for that little lot - as in a new request - which they subsequently denied. It just got me thinking that there must be mountains of paperwork somewhere in the country if they keep them as you say for 5 years and probably more.

As an aside I wonder if your situation came to light after say 10 or 15 years whether the statute of limitations applies.

Please keep us updated about the outcome.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

It's with the Bangkok Bank and the money's been there since early January and not married yet, so should be OK when I do submit the application.

Many thanks.

I am planning to apply for a Non Imm 'O' - 'Marriage'.

Re the money aspect, I am opting for the 400,000 in the bank. I have a fair amount in it and so no worries about exchange rate movements. Does anyone know if I can use the account to qualify?

Many thanks.

A few days ago I went to Chiang Mai Immigration with my Thai fiancee, so there should have been no 'Lost in Translation'. She told them that we're not yet married and I'm on a tourist visa. They were very polite and gave me this very glossy leaflet. I mentioned to the staff that it gave instructions for visa extensions and not first application (Leaflet is bilingual). They smiled and insisted that it was still the right information. I must say that the staff were really quite good but I left feeling a tad uncertain.

I will do as both replies mention and apply before the 21 days and keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks again for your help - hopefully it will save me a trip.

Am presently on a tourist visa and planning to get married and hoping to change to 'Marriage Visa'. I am told that apart from proof of marriage and money etc I need a Non Imm O. After getting married 'legit', I am told that I go to another country and apply for a Non Imm O. Do I take it that the embassy abroad will allow me 3 months on the Non Imm O and then I apply to my local immigration office to get a one year visa?

I am staying in Thailand on a Tourist Visa. It is likely that I will be getting married to a Thai lady soon. I have enquired about changing to a Non 'O' - Marriage.

Mae Sai immigration tell me that I have to get a 3 month visa from outside Thailand. A month before that visa ends I should apply at their office with proof of marriage and income guarantee.

Chiang Mai immigration just handed me a leaflet, which really only gives details of extensions.

I rang the Thai immigration helpline (1111) as advertised on this site. They told me that I don't need to leave Thailand. I need to go to an immigration office with:

Proof that I have registered marriage in Thailand(presumably at an Amphur).

Copy of Passport.

Marriage Certificate.

Proof of income guarantee.

2,000 Baht visa fee.

Copy of wife's ID card.

As you can imagine I am well confused. I would be grateful for some guidance.

Am living in Chiang Rai and will be off to Chiang Mai shortly to have a look around. Can anyone give any links in this forum or recommendations for shops in Chiang Mai. I don't know the city very well so would appreciate perhaps shop name, street and or landmarks in the vicinity.

I'm a regular customer of Peter's at Orn's Bookshop. I want to read Philip Pullman's 'Dark Materials' Series. Peter had all three and I read the first one 'Northern Lights' and I have the third 'The Amber Spyglass', but the second one 'The Subtle Knife' isn't available.

I don't really want to buy a new copy, cos I'm tight like that and so was wondering if anyone had a copy of the 'Subtle Knife' lying around , that I could borrow. I've looked in the 'Used Bookshop' opposite the Wiang Inn and Gare Garron, but no can do.